Lacrosse victorious, tennis, track, and softball lie idle

Women's lacrosse

The men’s and women’s track and field teams will start their outdoor spring season this Saturday. The teams travel to Springfield, Mass. for an 11 am start. The first home meet of the season will be the Liberty League Championship on April 12. After a successful indoor season, the squad looks to carry the momentum through the spring and well into May for the ECAC and NCAA championships.

Men's lacrosse

The men’s lacrosse team won its fifth consecutive game Saturday in Kingston, N.Y. The Red Hawks trounced Vassar College 11-3 in the brisk but sunny spring weather. The Liberty League opener in Dietz Stadium put RPI at 5-1 while dropping the Brewers to 0-3. RPI handily out-shot the Brewers 51-20 during the game.

After pulling ahead with an early 2-0 lead, Vassar got on the board just once in the first half, setting the score to 5-1 by halftime.

Late in the game, Vassar did start to mount a comeback but was stopped at 5-3 when RPI quickly netted three goals in the third and fourth quarters for the 11-3 final score. Senior Mike Sampson led for RPI with three goals, while classmates Alex MacEiarmid, PJ McComb, and freshman Nick Billy each had two goals. Sophomore Ryan DeJordy had eight saves during his time in net while freshman Angelo Luppino stopped two shots during his six minutes on the field.

RPI came from behind to beat Oneonta State 6-4 last Wednesday in non-league play in Oneonta, N.Y. The Red Hawks were led by senior Tom O’Dwyer who had a goal and an assist. Rensselaer found its rhythm late in the game as it outscored Oneonta 5-2 in the second half.

Despite the Red Dragons gaining a two-goal lead in the second quarter, RPI tied things back up early in the third quarter with Sampson’s goal, and then took the lead when freshman Conor Chocheles scored at 5:54. DeJordy made 11 saves, five of which were in the fourth quarter in the win.

The Red Hawks head back to Harkness Field on Wednesday to host SUNY Potsdam at 4 pm.

Men's tennis

The men’s tennis team is currently 1-2 as they sit idle until April 5 when it hosts its first home meet of the season against St. John Fisher College at 1 pm. The men won decisively 8-1 in the season-opener on March 10 in Hilton Head, S.C. against the Shenandoah University Hornets. Despite the strong start to the season, the team lost to both Baldwin-Wallace College (0-9) and Eastern Nazarene College (1-8) over the week in South Carolina. Freshman Adam Generale was named Rookie of the Week by the Liberty League last Monday. In the three matches, Generale won two of three singles in sixth position. His was RPI’s only win in the loss to the Eastern Nazarene Crusaders.

Track & Field

The women’s lacrosse team won two games this week. After an exciting 11-10 overtime victory over Oneonta State Wednesday afternoon, they returned to Troy to beat Nazareth College 10-6 on Saturday. Rensselaer now boasts a 5-1 record.

On Wednesday, the Red Hawks were paced by freshman Stephanie Caouette who had three goals, including the game-winner she scored with just under a minute to play in overtime. RPI had to battle back into the game after Oneonta raced out to a 4-0 lead. The Red Hawks worked hastily as they cut the deficit to just one (6-5) by the half.

The game was all tied up at 1:11 into the second half when sophomore Sam Fenessey scored from a free position opportunity making it 6-6. Although the Red Dragons took the lead momentarily, the Red Hawks made three consecutive goals to take a 9-7 lead with just under 20 minutes remaining. Oneonta sophomore Lauren Portnoy scored back-to-back goals at 7:57 to tie things up at 9.

After another Oneonta goal, Fennessey saved the game for RPI when she scored with just 24 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. The overtime session nearly expired but Caouette scored a free position goal and the Red Hawks managed to hold onto the ball until the time expired.

Coming off the close victory, RPI returned home to the Lower Renwyck field for a Saturday afternoon game against the No. 20 Golden Flyers in non-conference action.

Rensselaer took the game into its own hands in the second half, outscoring Nazareth 7-3 to break away from a 3-3 halftime tie. The victory was RPI’s first in nine attempts versus the Golden Flyers of Rochester.

The Red Hawks had a two-goal lead (3-1) late in the first half but Nazareth found the net twice before the whistle blew to tie it up at three. Fennessey scored her third goal of the game early in the second half to take the lead, but the Golden Flyers tied things back up at four. The Red Hawks then exploded offensively, scoring six of the next seven goals. Junior Kerri Clark contributed three to the scoring frenzy, and Caouette had two.

RPI held control of the game with a 26-17 shot advantage and taking 12 of 17 draws. In goal, sophomore Ariana Hood needed to make just four saves for RPI in the 10-6 win.

RPI hosts nationally-ranked William Smith College next Saturday at 2 pm in the Liberty League opener on Lower Renwyck Field.